The World Toilet Organization (WTO) Hall of Fame awards were given to President Muhammadu Buhari, Minister of Water Resources Engr. Suleiman H. Adamu, and United Nations Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed.
The National Open Defecation Free (ODF) accomplishment awards were also given to twelve Governors in recognition of their outstanding efforts in eradicating open defecation in their respective States.
They are Prof. Ben Ayade (Cross River), Prof. Charlse Chukwuma Soludo (Anambra), Bello Matawalle (Zamfara), Mohammed Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa), Aminu Bello Masari (Katsina), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Udom Gabriel Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom), Mai Mala Buni ( (Osun).
The World Toilet Organization (WTO), representatives from the World Bank, UNICEF, the Organized Private Sector in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (OPS-WASH), and other international partners assembled in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, on Friday in preparation for the World Toilet Summit 2022.
The honorees were thanked by WTO founder Jack Sim for their achievements in the fight against open defecation in Nigeria, and he encouraged them to continue their efforts.
According to him, around 2 million children die from diarrhea each year. He claimed that although open defecation is taboo everywhere, progress cannot be accomplished without talking about it.
A formerly taboo topic, he claimed that many world leaders are now championing the use of toilets, and that many celebrities in the entertainment and film industries are making movies on toilets.
He went on to discuss how improvements in sanitation might boost a nation’s economic growth.
“Investment comes to a country when it is clean, and when there is investment, there are jobs and high production levels when people are healthy. When a nation thinks cleanly, their brain gradually becomes clean, and corruption frequently vanishes. Once the streets, waterways, and restrooms were cleaned, corruption in Singapore was eradicated. said Jack.
In addition to thanking the WTO for the honor and selecting Nigeria to host the 2022 World Toilet Day, Buhari reaffirmed that by 2030, Nigeria aims to eradicate open defecation throughout the country.
Abubakar expressed gratitude to WTO for the recognition after receiving the WTO Hall of Fame award as well as the National ODF Achievement award for being the first state in Nigeria to achieve ODF status across all LGAs.
He clarified, however, that the trek had been extremely challenging because of customs and cultures that force people to practice open defecation. He claimed that several campaigns to educate people about the risks of open defecation were to blame for the success.
Badaru praised Prof. Suleiman Adamu, Minister of Water Resources, for his admirable efforts in the fight against open defecation and for putting the Governors in competition.
